Hydrogen is considered to be the most promising clean fuel for various applications, such as for use in hydrogen/air fuel cells, electric vehicles using such hydrogen fuel cells as the power generator, and chemical synthesis.
Hydrogen gas production has traditionally been achieved via two primary methodologies—(1) fuel reformation and (2) water electrolysis each of which have drawbacks.
Fuel reformation, such as steam reformation and plasma reformation, requires the use of high temperatures (i.e., 300° C.-800° C.), using, for example, coal, petroleum and natural gas. This technique has low energy efficiency, involves complex chemical reactions, has a short life, produces toxic chemical gases, has a low hydrogen conversion percentage, and generates hydrogen that is impure. (P. K. Cheekatamarla, and C. M. Finnerty, “Reforming catalysts for hydrogen generation in fuel cell applications,” Journal of Power Sources 160 (1) (2006) 490; C. C. Su; C. Y. Huang; Y. M. Sun; et al., “Performance of catalysts CuO—ZnO—Al 2O 3, CuO—ZnO—Al 2O 3-Pt—Rh, and Pt—Rh in a small reformer for hydrogen generation,” Journal of Power Sources 166 (2) (2007) 450.)
While water electrolysis results in pure hydrogen gas, it requires the use of an external energy source, such as an electric energy source or a battery, to operate causing additional power consumption. Moreover, water electrolysis often exhibits low energy efficiency. Methods of generating hydrogen via electrolysis of organic chemical and water solutions are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,284, U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,428, U.S. Pat. No. 8,133,464 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,399,392. The teachings of these patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
In addition to these drawbacks, once hydrogen gas is generated, containerization and transportation of hydrogen is a barrier for its practical application. In an effort to overcome this barrier, efforts in finding suitable materials that may be used to store and transport hydrogen are being explored. Materials such as metal alanates, hydrides, amides, imides, and carbon based materials for hydrogen storage are being evaluated. (Jain, I. P.; Jain, P.; Jain, A., Alloy and Compounds, 503 (2010) 303-339 and Meregalli, V.; Parrinello, M., Applied Physics, A72 (2001)143-146) These materials, however, are either corrosive, toxic, unstable or have very low capacity for hydrogen storage.
The hydrogen generation apparatus of the present invention remedies these limitations in that it does not require high temperature heating, an external energy source to operate, or containerization.